Profile Dr. Roman Lang

A balanced diet supplies sufficient amounts of macro- and micronutrients and is mandatory to secure complete functionality of the body and maintain good health. Beyond the pure intake of energy and building blocks, overall sensory attractiveness and individual preferences strongly affect the choice of foods, as eating and drinking is a daily procedure with fundamental hedonic aspects. The Biosystems Chemistry & Human Metabolism group isolates and purifies new compounds from food sources for structure elucidation and subsequent investigation of bioactivity, e.g. sensory activity and receptor activation. We target non-volatile dietary bioactives and tastants, their formation and the effect of food processing, the metabolic fate after consumption and the structure and bioactivity of metabolites. We plan and participate in human intervention studies and apply untargeted and targeted UPLC-MS based methods to identify and quantify food-derived compounds in blood and urine. Our work expands the knowledge on food composition, options for modulation of food constituents via processing, and human metabolism.

2009 – Award of the “Deutschen Gesellschaft für Qualität (DGQ)” for contributions to the knowledge on niacin in coffee (Lang, Wahl et al., 2010; Lang, Wahl et al., 2011; Lang, Yagar et al., 2013; Lang, Dieminger et al., 2013)

(See ORCID for complete list)

1. Czech, C., Lang, T., Graßl, A., Steuer, A., Di Pizio, A., Behrens, M., Lang, R.* Identification of mozambioside roasting products and their bitter taste receptor activation. Food Chem. 2024, 446, 138884. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.138884
2. Brandl, B., Czech, C., Wudy, S.I., Beusch, A., Hauner, H., Skurk, T., Lang, R.* Validation of N-Methylpyridinium as a Feasible Biomarker for Roasted Coffee Intake. Beverages, 2024, 10, 12. https://doi.org/10.3390/beverages10010012
3. Lang, R.*, Czech, C., Haas, M., Skurk, T. Consumption of Roasted Coffee Leads to Conjugated Metabolites of Atractyligenin in Human Plasma. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2023, 71, 49, 19516 – 19522. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.3c05252
4. Nicoli, A., Weber, V., Bon, C., Steuer, A., Gustincich, S., Gainetdinov, R.R., Lang, R., Espinoza, S.*, Di Pizio, A.* Structure-Based Discovery of Mouse Trace Amine-Associated Receptor 5 Antagonists. J. Chem. Inf. Mod. 2023, 63, 21, 6667 – 6680. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jcim.3c00755
5. Skurk, T., Krämer, T., Marcinek, P., Malki, A., Lang, R., Dunkel, A., Krautwurst, T., Hofmann, T.F., Krautwurst, D. Sweetener System Intervention Shifted Neutrophils from Homeostasis to Priming. Nutrients, 2023, 15, 1260. doi.org/10.3390/nu15051260
6. Lang, R.*, Beusch, A., Dirndorfer, S. Metabolites of dietary atractyligenin glucoside in coffee drinkers’ urine. Food Chem. 2022, 405, 135026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2022.135026
7. Liang, D., Dirndorfer, S., Somoza, V., Krautwurst, D., Lang, R.*, Hofmann, T. Metabolites of key flavor compound 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine in human urine. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2022, 70, 48, 15134 – 15142. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.2c06418
8. Lang, T., Frank, O., Lang, R., Hofmann, T., Behrens, M.* Activation Spectra of Human Bitter Taste Receptors Stimulated with Cyclolinopeptides Corresponding to Fresh and Aged Linseed Oil. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2022, 70, 14, 4382 – 4390. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.2c00976
9. Lang, R., Lang, T., Dunkel, A., Ziegler, F., Behrens, M.* Overlapping activation pattern of bitter taste receptors affect sensory  adaptation and food perception. Front. Nutr. 2022, 9:1082698. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2022.1082698
10. N`Diaye, K., Debong, M., Behr, J., Dirndorfer, S., Duggan, T., Beusch, A., Schlagbauer, V., Dawid, C., Loos, H.M., Büttner, A., Lang, R.*, Hofmann, T. Dietary piperine is transferred into the milk of nursing mothers. Mol. Nutr. Food Res. 2021, 65, 2100508. https://doi.org/10.1002/mnfr.202100508
11. Lang, T., Lang, R., Di Pizio, A., Mittermeier, V.K., Schlagbauer, V., Hofmann, T., Behrens, M.* Numerous compounds orchestrate coffee´s bitterness. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2020, 68, 24, 6692 – 6700. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.0c01373

 *=corresponding author